License management device, license management system, license management method, and program

ABSTRACT

A license management device causes a wireless device to enter a state in which all functions are restricted by overwriting key information of the wireless device with a default key specific to the wireless device. A key generating device generates an upgrade key specific to the wireless device, and transmits the update key to the license management device. The license management device can release a restriction of a function in the wireless device by applying the upgrade key to the key information of the wireless device overwritten with the default key.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a license management device, a licensemanagement system, a license management method, and a program used tomanage permission of execution of a predetermined function in a licenseedevice that performs a function according to key information specifyingan operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a type of sale in which a wireless device having a restrictedfunction is sold and the function of the wireless device is unlockedaccording to a contract with a licensee. Specifically, key informationrepresenting that a predetermined function is restricted is stored in awireless device performing a function according to key informationspecifying an operation as an initial state, and the function of thewireless device is unlocked by rewriting the key information accordingto a contract.

A method of updating key information in a wireless device is disclosedin Patent Document 1. According to the method described in PatentDocument 1, when a licensee designates a wireless device and requests asupport center or the like to unlock a function thereof, the supportcenter generates an upgrade key that is data used to update keyinformation of the designated wireless device and transmits the upgradekey to a terminal of the licensee. The licensee applies the upgrade keyreceived by the terminal to the designated wireless device to update keyinformation. Further, the upgrade key is data that is encrypted by anencryption key specific to the designated wireless device, and is itselfspecific to the designated wireless device, and thus it is difficult toapply the upgrade key to any other wireless device. This prevents afunction from being unlocked in a wireless device that is not undercontract using a copy of the upgrade key.

DOCUMENTS OF THE PRIOR ART Patent Document

[Patent Document 1]

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No.2008-117078

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

Meanwhile, for example, when a wireless device is added or transferred,there is a desire to change a wireless device in which a function is tobe unlocked according to the addition or the transfer. For example, whena function of a wireless device A has been unlocked, but as a wirelessdevice B is added, there is a desire to undo the function of thewireless device A and unlock the function of the wireless device B.

However, since the upgrade key is specific to one wireless device asdescribed above, there is a problem in that it is difficult to apply theupgrade key to other wireless devices.

The present invention has been made in light of the foregoing, and anobject of the present invention is to provide a license managementdevice, a license management system, a license management method, and aprogram, which are capable of changing a wireless device in which afunction is to be unlocked.

Means for Solving the Problem

A license management device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention is configured to solve the above problems, and managespermission of execution of a predetermined function in a licensee deviceconfigured to perform a function according to key information specifyingan operation. The license management device includes a request receivingunit configured to receive a license change request used to request thelicensee device to unlock or restrict a function, a default applyingunit configured to overwrite a default key restricting a function of thelicensee device that is key information specific to the licensee devicerepresented by the license change request on key information of thelicensee device when the request receiving unit receives the licensechange request, an upgrade key requesting unit configured to transmit anupgrade key generation request including identification information ofthe licensee device and a function to be unlocked that are representedby the license change request received by the request receiving unit toa key generating device configured to generate an upgrade key that isdifference data between the key information unlocking the functionrestricted by the default key of the licensee device and the default keybased on the identification information of the licensee device and afunction applied to the licensee device, an upgrade key acquiring unitconfigured to acquire the upgrade key generated based on the upgrade keygeneration request transmitted by the upgrade key requesting unit fromthe key generating device, and an upgrade applying unit configured toapply the upgrade key acquired by the upgrade key acquiring unit to thekey information of the licensee device after the default applying unitoverwrites the key information.

Further, a license management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes a plurality of licensee devices performing afunction according to key information specifying an operation, a licensemanagement device configured to manage a grant of a license for apredetermined function to the licensee device, and a key generatingdevice configured to generate difference data of the key information inthe licensee device. In the license management system, the licenseedevice includes a key information storage unit configured to store thekey information and a function performing unit configured to perform thefunction according to a restriction represented by the key informationstored in the key information storage unit, the license managementdevice includes a request receiving unit configured to receive a licensechange request used to request the licensee device to unlock or restricta function, a default applying unit configured to overwrite a defaultkey restricting a function of the licensee device that is keyinformation specific to the licensee device represented by the requeston key information of the licensee device when the request receivingunit receives the license change request, request includingidentification information of the licensee device and a function to beunlocked that are represented by the license change request received bythe request receiving unit to the key generating device, an upgrade keyacquiring unit configured to acquire the upgrade key generated based onthe upgrade key generation request transmitted by the upgrade keyrequesting unit from the key generating device, and an upgrade applyingunit configured to apply the upgrade key acquired by the upgrade keyacquiring unit to the key information of the licensee device after thedefault applying unit overwrites the key information, and the keygenerating device includes an upgrade key generating unit configured toreceive the upgrade key generation request from the license managementdevice, and generates an upgrade key that is difference data between thekey information in the licensee device and the default key based on theidentification information of the licensee device and a function appliedto the licensee device that are represented by the upgrade keygeneration request and a key transmitting unit configured to transmitthe upgrade key generated by the upgrade key generating unit to thelicense management device.

Further, a license management method according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes a license management device configured tomanage a grant of a license for a predetermined function to a licenseedevice configured to perform a function according to key informationspecifying an operation. The license management method includesreceiving, by a request receiving unit, a license change request used torequest the licensee device to unlock or restrict a function,overwriting, by a default applying unit, a default key restricting afunction of the licensee device that is key information specific to thelicensee device represented by the request on key information of thelicensee device when the request receiving unit receives the licensechange request, transmitting, by an upgrade key requesting unit, anupgrade key generation request including identification information ofthe licensee device and a function to be unlocked that are representedby the license change request received by the request receiving unit toa key generating device configured to generate an upgrade key that isdifference data between the key information unlocking the functionrestricted by the default key of the licensee device and the default keybased on the identification information of the licensee device and afunction applied to the licensee device, acquiring, by an upgrade keyacquiring unit, the upgrade key generated based on the upgrade keygeneration request transmitted by the upgrade key requesting unit fromthe key generating device, and applying, using an upgrade applying unit,the upgrade key acquired by the upgrade key acquiring unit to the keyinformation of the licensee device after the default applying unitoverwrites the key information.

Further, a program according to an embodiment of the present inventioncauses a license management device configured to manage a grant of alicense for a predetermined function to a licensee device configured toperform a function according to key information specifying an operationto function as a request receiving unit configured to receive a licensechange request used to request the licensee device to unlock or restricta function, a default applying unit configured to overwrite a defaultkey restricting a function of the licensee device that is keyinformation specific to the licensee device represented by the requeston key information of the licensee device when the request receivingunit receives the license change request, an upgrade key requesting unitconfigured to transmit an upgrade key generation request includingidentification information of the licensee device and a function to beunlocked that are represented by the license change request received bythe request receiving unit to a key generating device configured togenerate an upgrade key that is difference data between the keyinformation unlocking the function restricted by the default key of thelicensee device and the default key based on the identificationinformation of the licensee device and a function applied to thelicensee device, an upgrade key acquiring unit configured to acquire theupgrade key generated based on the upgrade key generation requesttransmitted by the upgrade key requesting unit from the key generatingdevice, and an upgrade applying unit configured to apply the upgrade keyacquired by the upgrade key acquiring unit to the key information of thelicensee device after the default applying unit overwrites the keyinformation.

Effects of the Invention

According to a license management device of the present invention, it ispossible to restore restriction of a function in a licensee device to anoriginal state by overwriting key information with a default keyspecific to the licensee device, and it is possible to unlockrestriction of a function in the licensee device by applying an upgradekey to the key information overwritten with the default key. Thus, alicensee can change a wireless device in which a function is unlocked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a license management systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a structure of awireless device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a structure of alicense management device.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating information stored in a licensemanagement device.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating information stored in a licensemanagement device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a structure of a keygenerating device.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of storing a defaultkey in a license management device and updating a permission upper limitnumber.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of changing a functionto be permitted in a wireless device by a license management device.

EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention is described withreference to the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a license management systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

A license management system includes a plurality of wireless devices10-1 to 10-N (licensee devices) (hereinafter, the wireless devices 10-1to 10-N are collectively referred to as a “wireless device 10”), aplurality of monitoring control devices 20-1 to 20-M (licenseemonitoring devices) (hereinafter, the monitoring control devices 20-1 to20-M (here, N>M) are collectively referred to as a “monitoring controldevice 20”), a license management device 30, and a key generating device40. The wireless device 10, the monitoring control device 20, and thelicense management device 30 are possessed by a licensee (a user, anoperator, a purchaser, or the like) of the wireless device 10, and thekey generating device 40 is possessed by a licenser (an administrator, avendor, a seller, or the like) of the wireless device 10. The licensemanagement device 30 is connected with the key generating device 40 viaa network. Examples of the network via which the license managementdevice 30 is connected with the key generating device 40 include theInternet and a wide area network (WAN) connecting a local area network(LAN) of the licensee with the LAN of the licenser.

The wireless device 10 performs wireless communication with acounterpart wireless device 10 based on microwaves. For example, thewireless device 10-1 performs wireless communication with the wirelessdevice 10-3. At this time, the wireless device 10 performs wirelesscommunication according to key information stored therein. Examples of afunction designated according to the key information includecommunication capacity, the presence or absence of a redundancystructure, and the presence or absence of application of crosspolarization interference cancellation (XPIC). For example, when the keyinformation stored in the wireless device 10-1 represents a setting inwhich the communication capacity is 10 Mbps, there is no redundancystructure, and the XPIC is not applied, wireless communication with thewireless device 10-3 is performed according to this key information. Thekey information is rewritten by the license management device 30.

The license management device 30 transmits the key information to thewireless device 10 that is the rewrite target of the key informationthrough the wireless devices 10 that are connected in series by acommunication path. For example, when the wireless device 10 (thewireless device 10 of the subsequent stage) connected to the licensemanagement device 30 via another wireless device 10 (the wireless device10 of the preceding stage) is the rewrite target of the key information,the license management device outputs the key information in which thewireless device 10 of the subsequent stage is set as the destination tothe wireless device 10 of the preceding stage. Then, the wireless device10 of the preceding stage transfers the acquired key information to thewireless device 10 of the subsequent stage represented by thedestination through wireless communication. In other words, the wirelessdevice 10 of the preceding stage operates as a router, and thus the keyinformation is transferred to the wireless device 10 of the subsequentstage.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the structure of thewireless device 10.

The wireless device 10 includes a key information storage unit 101, akey receiving unit 102, a key information reading unit 103, a wirelesscommunication unit 104 (a function performing unit), and a permissionstatus notifying unit 105.

The key information storage unit 101 stores the key informationspecifying wireless communication function that is performed by thewireless communication unit 104. The key information stored in the keyinformation storage unit 101 is encrypted by an encryption key specificto the wireless device 10.

The key receiving unit 102 receives a default key from the licensemanagement device 30, and overwrites the key information stored in thekey information storage unit with the default key. Further, the keyreceiving unit 102 receives an upgrade key that is differenceinformation of the default key from the license management device 30,and applies the upgrade key to the key information stored in the keyinformation storage unit.

Through this operation, it is possible to restore the key informationstored in the key information storage unit to a factory initial state ofthe wireless device 10. Further, the key receiving unit 102 receives anupgrade key that is difference information of the default key from thelicense management device 30, and applies the upgrade key to the keyinformation stored in the key information storage unit. Further, the keyreceiving unit 102 receives the key information through the wirelesscommunication unit 104 when the key information (the default key or theupgrade key) is received from another wireless device 10 throughwireless communication, and receives the key information through aconnection port when the key information is received from the licensemanagement device 30 or another wireless device 10 in a wired manner.

The key information reading unit 103 decodes the key information storedin the key information storage unit using the encryption key specific tothe wireless device 10, and reads a restriction of a functionrepresented by the key information.

The wireless communication unit 104 performs a wireless communicationfunction according to the restriction represented by the key informationread by the key information reading unit 103.

The permission status notifying unit 105 notifies the monitoring controldevice 20 of permission status information represented by a functionenabled in the wireless device 10 and permission status informationacquired from the counterpart wireless device 10 through the wirelesscommunication unit 104 based on the restriction of the function read bythe key information reading unit.

The monitoring control device 20 performs communication with theplurality of wireless devices 10 connected via the communication path,acquires the permission status information of each wireless device 10 atregular intervals, and notifies the license management device 30 of theacquired permission status information.

The license management device 30 stores the default key that is the keyinformation of the initial value specific to the wireless device 10, anddetermines whether the upgrade key unlocking a predetermined function isapplied to the wireless device 10 according to a permission upper limitnumber of function unlocking decided according to a contract between thelicensee and the licenser. Here, the upgrade key represents differencedata between the key information used to unlock a predetermined functionand the default key. Thus, the upgrade key is data that differsaccording to each wireless device 10 even when used to unlock the samefunction. Here, as an optional function that can be unlocked in thepresent embodiment, there are three types of functions including afunction (capacity) of increasing the communication capacity, a function(redundancy) of applying the redundancy structure, and a function (XPIC)of applying the XPIC. However, any other optional function may be used.For example, when the capacity function is applied, the communicationcapacity is increased from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps. In other words, as theupgrade key applicable to a certain wireless device 10, there are 7types including a capacity application, a redundancy application, anXPIC application, a capacity/redundancy application, a capacity/XPICapplication, a redundancy/XPIC application, and acapacity/redundancy/XPIC application. The upgrade key in which thefunctions are combined in addition to the upgrade key of each functionis used because the upgrade key is difference data that can be appliedonly to the default key. The upgrade key is encrypted by the encryptionkey specific to the corresponding wireless device 10. Thus, even whenthe upgrade key issued to a certain wireless device 10 is illegallycopied and applied to the key information of another wireless device 10,since it is difficult to decode the upgrade key using the encryption keyof the other wireless device 10, it is possible to prevent illegal useof the upgrade key.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the structure of thelicense management device 30.

The license management device 30 includes a communication unit 301 (anupgrade key requesting unit and an upgrade key acquiring unit), a keyrecording unit 302, a key storage unit 303, an upper limit numbermanaging unit 304 (an upper limit number updating unit and a reflectingunit), an upper limit number storage unit 305, a key extracting unit 306(a request receiving unit), a permission status reading unit 307, a keyapplying unit 308 (a default applying unit and an upgrade applyingunit), and a monitoring information acquiring unit 309.

The communication unit 301 receives the default key and anincrease/decrease value of the permission upper limit number from thekey generating device 40 connected via a network. The communication unit301 transmits an upgrade key generation request of the wireless device10 to the key generating device 40, and receives a corresponding updatekey from the key generating device 40.

The key recording unit 302 stores the default key received by thecommunication unit 301 in the key storage unit 303.

The key storage unit 303 stores the default key in association with theidentification information of the wireless device 10.

The upper limit number managing unit 304 updates the permission upperlimit number stored in the upper limit number storage unit 305 based onthe increase/decrease value of the permission upper limit numberreceived by the communication unit 301. Further, the upper limit numbermanaging unit 304 increases or decreases the permission upper limitnumber stored in the upper limit number storage unit 305 when the keyextracting unit 306 reads the default key from the key storage unit 303and the communication unit 301 receives the upgrade key. Further, theupper limit number managing unit 304 updates the permission upper limitnumber stored in the upper limit number storage unit 305 based oninformation acquired by the monitoring information acquiring unit 309.

The upper limit number storage unit 305 stores the permission upperlimit number representing a number of times execution of each functionunlocked in the wireless device 10 can be allowed.

The key extracting unit 306 receives a license change request used torequest function unlocking or function restriction from the wirelessdevice 10 of the licensee. The license change request includes theidentification information of the wireless device 10 on which a functionis to be unlocked or restricted and a corresponding function when thefunction is unlocked. The key extracting unit 306 extracts the defaultkey associated with the identification information included in thelicense change request from the key storage unit 303. Further, the keyextracting unit 306 acquires the upgrade key received by thecommunication unit 301.

The permission status reading unit 307 reads the permission statusinformation that is information of a function permitted in the wirelessdevice 10 from the wireless device 10. Specifically, the permissionstatus information is information representing an unlocked functionamong functions restricted by the default key.

The key applying unit 308 records the default key extracted by the keyextracting unit 306 in the wireless device 10 of the target as the keyinformation, and applies the upgrade key extracted by the key extractingunit 306 to the key information of the wireless device 10 of the target.

The monitoring information acquiring unit 309 acquires informationrepresenting a function enabled in each wireless device 10 monitored bythe monitoring control device 20 from the monitoring control device 20.

FIGS. 4A to 4B are diagrams illustrating information stored in thelicense management device 30. The key storage unit 303 stores thedefault key specific to the wireless device 10 in association with theidentification information of the wireless device 10 as illustrated inFIG. 4A. In the present embodiment, as an example, when the wirelessdevice 10 is in the initial state, it is assumed that the communicationcapacity is restricted to, for example, 10 Mbps, and there is nopermitted optional function. In other words, in the present embodiment,when the wireless device 10 uses the default key as the key information,the wireless device 10 is assumed to have the communication capacity of10 Mbps and perform communication at a setting in which the optionalfunction such as the redundancy structure or the XPIC is not applied.The default key is encrypted by the encryption key specific to thecorresponding wireless device 10. Further, information stored in the keystorage unit 303 is encrypted by the encryption key specific to thelicense management device 30. Thus, it is possible to prevent thedefault key from being illegally used even when information stored inthe key storage unit 303 is extracted by illegal access.

The upper limit number storage unit 305 stores the permission upperlimit number of the function in association with the function asillustrated in FIG. 4B. The upper limit number storage unit 305 storesthe permission upper limit number in association with a single functionrather than a function and a function combination. Thus, when theupgrade key received by the communication unit 301 represents thecapacity/XPIC application, the upper limit number managing unit 304reduces the permission upper limit number that is stored in associatedwith the capacity in the upper limit number storage unit 305 and thepermission upper limit number that is stored in associated with the XPICin the upper limit number storage unit 305 one at a time.

The key generating device 40 receives the identification information ofthe wireless device 10 sold by the licenser, and generates the defaultkey and the upgrade key to be applied to the wireless device 10.Further, the key generating device 40 decides whether the permissionupper limit number by which execution of a predetermined function can beallowed in the wireless device 10 possessed by the licensee is to beincreased or decreased based on a license contract between the licenserand the licensee. The permission upper limit number is calculated foreach function. For example, the permission upper limit number is set todiffer according to each function, for example, the number of thewireless devices 10 to which the XPIC is allowed to be applied is set tobe five (5), and the number of the wireless devices 10 to which theredundancy structure is allowed to be applied is set to be two (2).

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the structure of thekey generating device 40.

The key generating device 40 includes a wireless device informationstorage unit 401, a default key generating unit 402, an upgrade keygenerating unit 403, an upper limit number increase/decrease valuestorage unit 404, an upper limit number increase/decrease value readingunit 405, and a communication unit 406.

The wireless device information storage unit 401 stores theidentification information of the wireless device 10 sold by thelicenser and the encryption key specific to the wireless device 10.

The default key generating unit 402 generates the default key specificto the wireless device 10 by encrypting the default key using theencryption key that is stored in the wireless device information storageunit 401 in association with the identification information of thewireless device 10 received by the communication unit 406.

The upgrade key generating unit 403 generates the upgrade key specificto the wireless device 10 based on the identification information of thewireless device 10 and a function to be applied, which are representedby the upgrade key generation request received by the communication unit406. Specifically, the upgrade key generating unit 403 generates theupgrade key by generating a difference between an information key usedto unlock the function represented by the upgrade key generation requestand the default key and encrypting the difference using the encryptionkey that is stored in the wireless device information storage unit 401in association with the identification information of the wirelessdevice 10 represented by the upgrade key generation request.

The upper limit number increase/decrease value storage unit 404 storesthe increase/decrease value of the permission upper limit number bywhich execution of a predetermined function can be permitted in thewireless device 10 possessed by the licensee. The increase/decreasevalue of the permission upper limit number is set by the licenser foreach contract between the licensee and the licenser.

The upper limit number increase/decrease value reading unit 405 readsthe increase/decrease value of the permission upper limit number storedin the upper limit number increase/decrease value storage unit 404, andoutputs the increase/decrease value of the permission upper limit numberto the communication unit 406. At this time, the upper limit numberincrease/decrease value reading unit 405 rewrites the increase/decreasevalue of the permission upper limit number stored in the upper limitnumber increase/decrease value storage unit to zero (0).

The communication unit 406 transmits the default key and theincrease/decrease value of the permission upper limit number to thelicense management device 30 via the network. Further, the communicationunit 406 receives the upgrade key generation request from the licensemanagement device 30 via the network, and transmits the upgrade keygenerated according to the upgrade key generation request to the licensemanagement device 30.

Next, an operation of the license management system according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of recording thedefault key and updating the permission upper limit number in thelicense management device 30.

When the licensee starts license management through the licensemanagement device 30 or when the licensee has newly purchased thewireless device 10, the licensee requests the key generating device 40of the licenser to generate the default key of the new wireless device10 via the network. The key generation request includes theidentification information of the wireless device 10 to which thegenerated default key is applied.

When the communication unit 406 of the key generating device 40 receivesthe key generation request (step S501), the default key generating unit402 generates the default key specific to the wireless device 10 usingthe encryption key associated with the identification information of thewireless device 10 represented by the key generation request (stepS502).

Then, the upper limit number increase/decrease value reading unit 405reads the increase/decrease value of the permission upper limit numberstored in the upper limit number increase/decrease value storage unit404, and rewrites the increase/decrease value of the permission upperlimit number stored in the upper limit number increase/decrease valuestorage unit 404 to 0 (step S503). Then, the communication unit 406encrypts the default key generated in step S502 and theincrease/decrease value of the permission upper limit number read instep S503 using the encryption key specific to the license managementdevice 30, and transmits the default key and the increase/decrease valueof the permission upper limit number to the license management device 30via the network (step S504). At this time, the communication unit 406transmits the default key in association with the identificationinformation of the wireless device 10 to which the default key isapplied.

When the key generating device 40 transmits the default key and theincrease/decrease value of the permission upper limit number, thecommunication unit 301 receives the default key and theincrease/decrease value of the permission upper limit number (stepS505). Then, the key recording unit 302 records the default key receivedby the communication unit 301 in the key storage unit 303 in associationwith the identification information of the wireless device 10 (stepS506).

Further, the upper limit number managing unit 304 adds theincrease/decrease value of the permission upper limit number received bythe communication unit 301 to the permission upper limit number storedin the upper limit number storage unit 305 (step S507).

Through the above process, the default key generated by the keygenerating device 40 is recorded in the license management device 30,and the increase/decrease value of the permission upper limit numbergenerated by the key generating device 40 is applied to the licensemanagement device 30.

Next, an operation of updating a function permitted in the wirelessdevice 10 by the license management device 30 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of updating a functionpermitted in the wireless device 10 by the license management device 30.

When the licensee of the wireless device 10 inputs the license changerequest used to request the license management device 30 to unlock orrestrict a function of the wireless device 10, the key extracting unit306 receives the license change request (step S601). The license changerequest includes the identification information of the wireless device10 of the target and a corresponding function when the function isunlocked. Then, the permission status reading unit 307 reads thepermission status information representing the function permitted in thewireless device 10 from the wireless device 10 represented by theidentification information included in the license change request (stepS602).

Then, the key extracting unit 306 extracts the default key associatedwith the identification information included in the license changerequest from the key storage unit 303 (step S603). Then, the keyapplying unit 308 records the default key extracted by the keyextracting unit 306 in the wireless device 10 represented by theidentification information included in the license change request, thatis, in the wireless device 10 of the target as the key information (stepS604). Then, the upper limit number managing unit 304 adds 1 to thepermission upper limit number associated with the permitted functionrepresented by the permission status information read by the permissionstatus reading unit 307 among the permission upper limit numbers storedin the upper limit number storage unit 305 (step S605). Through thisoperation, it is possible to apply the default key to the wirelessdevice 10, restrict all functions permitted in the wireless device 10,and increase the permission upper limit numbers of the restrictedfunctions.

Then, the key extracting unit 306 determines whether the license changerequest includes information representing a function to be unlocked(step S606). When the key extracting unit 306 determines that thelicense change request includes information representing a function tobe unlocked (YES in step S606), the upper limit number managing unit 304determines whether all of the permission upper limit numbers associatedwith the functions to be unlocked that are represented by the licensechange request are 1 or more (step S607). When all of the permissionupper limit numbers stored in the upper limit number storage unit 305are determined to be 1 or more (YES in step S607), the key extractingunit 306 transmits the upgrade key generation request used to requestgeneration of the upgrade key associated with the function to beunlocked or a combination of functions that is represented by thelicense change request to the key generating device 40 from the keystorage unit 303 via the network (step S608).

When the communication unit 406 of the key generating device 40 receivesthe upgrade key generation request from the license management device30, the upgrade key generating unit 403 reads the encryption keyassociated with the identification information of the wireless device 10represented by the generation request from the wireless deviceinformation storage unit 401. Then, the upgrade key generating unit 403generates the key information used to unlock the function based on thefunction or the combination of the functions represented by thegeneration request. Then, the upgrade key generating unit 403 generatesthe upgrade key by generating difference data between the generated keyinformation and the default key and encrypting the read encryption key.The communication unit 406 transmits the upgrade key generated by theupgrade key generating unit 403 to the license management device 30.

When the communication unit 301 of the license management device 30receives the upgrade key from the key generating device 40 (step S609),the key applying unit 308 applies the received upgrade key to the keyinformation of the wireless device 10 represented by the identificationinformation included in the license change request (step S610).

Then, the upper limit number managing unit 304 subtracts 1 from thepermission upper limit number associated with the function to beunlocked that is represented by the license change request among thepermission upper limit numbers stored in the upper limit number storageunit 305 (step S611), and then the process ends. Through this operation,it is possible to apply the upgrade key to the wireless device 10,unlock the function of the wireless device 10, and reduce the permissionupper limit number of the unlocked function.

Meanwhile, when the license change request is determined to include noinformation representing a function to be unlocked in step S606 (NO instep S606) or when it is determined in step S607 that there is afunction in which the upper limit numbers stored in the upper limitnumber storage unit 305 are zero (0) (NO in step S607), the process ofapplying the upgrade key is not performed, and the process ends.Further, when it is determined in step S607 that there is a function inwhich the upper limit numbers stored in the upper limit number storageunit 305 are zero (0) (NO in step S607), it is desirable to output anerror message such as “the number of licenses of the selected functionis insufficient” before the process ends.

Next, a permission upper limit number management operation in thelicense management device 30 will be described.

When the licensee has purchased a new management device from thelicenser and a predetermined function in the management device has beenunlocked in advance, the upper limit number stored in the upper limitnumber storage unit 305 of the license management device 30 needs to beupdated according to the unlocked function. Thus, in the presentembodiment, the permission status information that is information of afunction permitted in the wireless device 10 using the monitoringcontrol device 20 is collected, and the permission upper limit number isupdated based on the permission status information at regular intervals.

Specifically, the monitoring control device 20 acquires the permissionstatus information from the plurality of wireless devices 10 connectedvia the communication path at regular intervals, and notifies thelicense management device 30 of the permission status information.Further, when the wireless devices 10 connected to the monitoringcontrol device 20 are connected in series as illustrated in FIG. 1, thepermission status information is acquired from all the wireless devices10 that are connected in series. In other words, the wireless device 10(the wireless device 10 of the subsequent stage) connected to themonitoring control device 20 via another wireless device 10 (thewireless device 10 of the preceding stage) transmits its permissionstatus information to the wireless device 10 of the preceding stage, andthe wireless device 10 of the preceding stage transmits its permissionstatus information to the monitoring control device 20 together with thepermission status information received from the wireless device 10 ofthe subsequent stage.

Then, when the monitoring information acquiring unit 309 of the licensemanagement device 30 acquires the permission status information from allthe monitoring control devices 20, the upper limit number managing unit304 calculates a permission number in the wireless device 10 for eachfunction based on all pieces of acquired permission status information.Then, the current permission upper limit number can be calculated bysubtracting the calculated permission number from a permission numberdetermined according to the contract. Then, the upper limit numbermanaging unit 304 overwrites the calculated permission upper limitnumber in the upper limit number storage unit 305.

Through this operation, when the number of the wireless devices 10 ofthe management target increases, the license management device 30 canupdate the permission upper limit number stored in the upper limitnumber storage unit 305. Further, as the license management device 30acquires the permission status information from the plurality ofwireless devices 10 through the monitoring control device 20, it ispossible to avoid congestion in the communication path between thewireless device 10 and the license management device 30 in the processof updating the permission upper limit number.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the licensemanagement device 30 can overwrite the key information with the defaultkey specific to the wireless device 10 and cause the wireless device 10to enter the state (default state) in which all functions arerestricted. Further, the license management device 30 can release arestriction of a function in the wireless device 10 by applying theupgrade key to the key information overwritten with the default key. Inother words, when the licensee desires to change a function unlockingtarget from a certain wireless device 10 to another wireless device 10,the licensee can change the wireless device 10 in which a restriction ofa function is to be unlocked by inputting the license change requestused to request unlocking of the function in the certain wireless device10 to the license management device 30 and inputting the license changerequest used to request unlocking of the function in another wirelessdevice 10 to the license management device 30.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the license managementdevice 30 updates the permission upper limit number stored in the upperlimit number storage unit 305 when the key applying unit 308 applies thedefault key or the upgrade key to the wireless device 10. Further, thekey applying unit 308 does not apply the upgrade key to the wirelessdevice 10 when the permission upper limit number is 0. Through thisoperation, the license management device 30 can restrict or unlock afunction of the wireless device 10 within the range of the permissionnumber decided according to the contract between the licenser and thelicensee.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the license managementdevice 30 is connected with the key generating device 40 via thenetwork. Thus, the license management device 30 can issue the keygeneration request to the key generating device 40 on demand accordingto the licensee's request. Thus, the license management device 30 canacquire the upgrade key requested by the licensee without delay evenwhen the upgrade key is not stored in advance.

Further, when the upgrade keys of all patterns are stored in advance anda new license form is added, the license management device 30 needs toupdate a table in which the upgrade keys are stored. However, accordingto the present embodiment, even when a new license form is added, thekey generating device 40 can flexibly cope with a change in a licenseform since the upgrade key is generated on demand.

The exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings, but the concrete structureis not limited to the above example, and various design changes or thelike can be made within the scope not departing from the gist of theinvention.

For example, the present embodiment has been described in connectionwith the example in which, each time the license change request isreceived, the permission status reading unit 307 reads the permissionstatus information from the wireless device 10, and updates thepermission upper limit number based on the permission statusinformation, but the invention is not limited to this example. Forexample, the permission status information acquired from the monitoringcontrol device 20 by the monitoring information acquiring unit 309 maybe stored, and the permission upper limit number may be updated based onthe permission status information.

Further, the present embodiment has been described in connection withthe example in which the upper limit number storage unit 305 stores thepermission upper limit number for each function, but the invention isnot limited to this example. For example, the upper limit number storageunit 305 may store the permission upper limit number for each upgradekey. For example, the permission upper limit number may be stored foreach upgrade key such that the permission upper limit number of theupgrade key of the capacity application is 5, the permission upper limitnumber of the upgrade key of the redundancy application is 5, and thepermission upper limit number of the upgrade key of thecapacity/redundancy application is 1. In this case, the capacity and theredundancy are applied to one wireless device 10.

Further, the present embodiment has been described in connection withthe example in which the license management device 30 receives andstores the default key from the key generating device 40 in advance, butthe invention is not limited to this example. For example, the keygenerating device 40 may generate the default key as well as the upgradekey each time there is a change request

The wireless device 10, the monitoring control device 20, the licensemanagement device 30, and the key generating device 40 have an internalcomputer system. An operation of each processing unit is stored in acomputer readable recording medium in a program form, and theabove-described process is performed as the program is read and executedby a computer. Here, examples of the computer readable recording mediuminclude a magnetic disk, a magneto optical disc, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM,and a semiconductor memory. Further, the computer program may bedelivered to the computer via a communication line, and the computer mayexecute the delivered program.

Further, the program may be configured to implement a part of theabove-described function.

In addition, the program may be a so-called differential file (adifferential program) that can implement the above-described function bya combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-157658,filed Jul. 19, 2011, the content of which is incorporated herein byreference.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the license management device of the present invention, itis possible to change a wireless device of a function unlocking target.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

10 Wireless device

10-1 Wireless device

10-N Wireless device

20 Monitoring control device

20-1 Monitoring control device

20-M Monitoring control device

30 License management device

40 Key generating device

301 Communication unit

302 Key recording unit

303 Key storage unit

304 Upper limit number managing unit

305 Upper limit number storage unit

306 Key extracting unit

307 Permission status reading unit

308 Key applying unit

309 Monitoring information acquiring unit

401 Wireless device information storage unit

402 Default key generating unit

403 Upgrade key generating unit

404 Upper limit number increase/decrease value storage unit

405 Upper limit number increase/decrease value reading unit

406 Communication unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. A license management device configured tomanage permission of execution of a predetermined function in a licenseedevice configured to perform a function according to key informationspecifying an operation, comprising: a request receiving unit configuredto receive a license change request used to request the licensee deviceto unlock or restrict a function; a default applying unit configured tooverwrite a default key restricting a function of the licensee devicethat is key information specific to the licensee device represented bythe license change request on key information of the licensee devicewhen the request receiving unit receives the license change request,wherein the function of the licensee device is restricted to a defaultstate; an upgrade key requesting unit configured to transmit an upgradekey generation request including identification information of thelicensee device and a function to be unlocked that are represented bythe license change request received by the request receiving unit to akey generating device that generates an upgrade key that is differencedata between the key information unlocking the function restricted bythe default key of the licensee device and the default key based on theidentification information of the licensee device, and a functionapplied to the licensee device; an upgrade key acquiring unit configuredto acquire the upgrade key generated based on the upgrade key generationrequest transmitted by the upgrade key requesting unit from the keygenerating device; and an upgrade applying unit configured to apply theupgrade key acquired by the upgrade key acquiring unit to the keyinformation of the licensee device after the default applying unitoverwrites the key information.
 2. The license management deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: an upper limit number storageunit configured to store a permission upper limit number representing anumber of times execution of a predetermined function is permissible inthe licensee device; and a reflecting unit configured to update thepermission upper limit number stored in the upper limit number storageunit based on information of a difference between a function unlocked inthe licensee device before the key information is rewritten and afunction unlocked in the licensee device after the key information isrewritten when the default applying unit or the upgrade applying unitrewrites the key information, wherein, when the request receiving unitreceives the license change request and the permission upper limitnumber stored in the upper limit number storage unit is 1 or more, theupgrade applying unit applies an upgrade key that is associated with thelicensee device represented by the request and corresponds to a changedfunction represented by the license change request to the keyinformation of the licensee device.
 3. The license management deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the upper limit number storage unit storesthe permission upper limit number for each function to be unlocked, thestorage unit stores the upgrade keys corresponding to all functions anda combination of the functions for each licensee device, and when thedefault applying unit or the upgrade applying unit rewrites the keyinformation, the reflecting unit updates the permission upper limitnumber associated with each function stored in the upper limit numberstorage unit based on information of a difference between a functionunlocked in the licensee device before the key information is rewrittenand a function unlocked in the licensee device after the key informationis rewritten.
 4. The license management device according to claim 3,further comprising, a permission status reading unit configured to readpermission status information that is information of a functionpermitted in the licensee device from a plurality of licensee devices,wherein, when the default applying unit rewrites the key information,the reflecting unit specifies a function permitted in the licenseedevice before the key information is rewritten based on the permissionstatus information read by the permission status reading unit, andupgrade the permission upper limit number stored in the upper limitnumber storage unit based on information of a difference between thespecified function and a function permitted in the licensee device afterthe key information is rewritten.
 5. The license management deviceaccording to claim 2, further comprising, a permission status readingunit configured to read permission status information that isinformation of a function permitted in the licensee device from aplurality of licensee devices, wherein, when the default applying unitrewrites the key information, the reflecting unit specifies a functionpermitted in the licensee device before the key information is rewrittenbased on the permission status information read by the permission statusreading unit, and upgrades the permission upper limit number stored inthe upper limit number storage unit based on information of a differencebetween the specified function and a function permitted in the licenseedevice after the key information is rewritten.
 6. The license managementdevice according to claim 5, further comprising: a monitoringinformation acquiring unit configured to read the permission statusinformation from a plurality of licensee monitoring devices that acquirethe permission status information from the different licensee devices;and an upper limit number updating unit configured to update the upperlimit number stored in the upper limit number storage unit based on thepermission status information acquired by the monitoring informationacquiring unit.
 7. The license management device of claim 6, wherein thelicense management device updates the permission upper limit numberbased on the permission status information at regular intervals.
 8. Thelicense management device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of licenseemonitoring devices: acquires the permission status information from theplurality of licensee devices connected via the communication path atregular intervals; and notifies the license management device of theacquired permission status information.
 9. The license management deviceof claim 8, wherein the plurality of licensee devices are connected tothe plurality of licensee monitoring devices in series.
 10. The licensemanagement device of claim 9, wherein a first licensee device in asubsequent stage which is connected to a licensee monitoring device ofthe plurality of licensee monitoring devices via a second licenseedevice in a preceding stage, transmits its permission status informationto the second licensee device, and the second licensee device transmitsits permission status information to the licensee monitoring devicetogether with the permission status information of the first licenseedevice.
 11. The license management device of claim 10, wherein when themonitoring information acquiring unit acquires the permission statusinformation from the plurality of licensee monitoring devices, the upperlimit number updating unit: calculates a permission number in thelicensee device for each function based on all pieces of acquiredpermission status information; calculates the permission upper limitnumber by subtracting the calculated permission number from apredetermined permission number; and overwrites the calculatedpermission upper limit number in the upper limit number storage unit.12. A license management system including a plurality of licenseedevices performing a function according to key information specifying anoperation, a license management device configured to manage a grant of alicense for a predetermined function to a licensee device of theplurality of licensee devices, and a key generating device configured togenerate difference data of the key information in the licensee device,comprising: the licensee device including: a key information storageunit configured to store the key information, and a function performingunit configured to perform the function according to a restrictionrepresented by the key information stored in the key information storageunit; the license management device including: a request receiving unitconfigured to receive a license change request used to request thelicensee device to unlock or restrict a function, a default applyingunit configured to overwrite a default key restricting a function of thelicensee device that is key information specific to the licensee devicerepresented by the request on key information of the licensee devicewhen the request receiving unit receives the license change request,wherein the function of the licensee device is restricted to a defaultstate, an upgrade key requesting unit configured to transmit an upgradekey generation request including identification information of thelicensee device and a function to be unlocked that are represented bythe license change request received by the request receiving unit to thekey generating device, an upgrade key acquiring unit configured toacquire the upgrade key generated based on the upgrade key generationrequest transmitted by the upgrade key requesting unit from the keygenerating device, and an upgrade applying unit configured to apply theupgrade key acquired by the upgrade key acquiring unit to the keyinformation of the licensee device after the default applying unitoverwrites the key information; and the key generating device including:an upgrade key generating unit configured to receive the upgrade keygeneration request from the license management device, and generate anupgrade key that is difference data between the key information in thelicensee device and the default key based on the identificationinformation of the licensee device and a function applied to thelicensee device that are represented by the upgrade key generationrequest, and a key transmitting unit configured to transmit the upgradekey generated by the upgrade key generating unit to the licensemanagement device.
 13. A license management method using a licensemanagement device configured to manage a grant of a license for apredetermined function to a licensee device that performs a functionaccording to key information specifying an operation, the methodcomprising: receiving, by a request receiving unit, a license changerequest used to request the licensee device to unlock or restrict afunction; overwriting, by a default applying unit, a default keyrestricting a function of the licensee device that is key informationspecific to the licensee device represented by the request on keyinformation of the licensee device when the request receiving unitreceives the license change request, wherein the function of thelicensee device is restricted to a default state; transmitting, by anupgrade key requesting unit, an upgrade key generation request includingidentification information of the licensee device and a function to beunlocked that are represented by the license change request received bythe request receiving unit to a key generating device that generates anupgrade key that is difference data between the key informationunlocking the function restricted by the default key of the licenseedevice and the default key based on the identification information ofthe licensee device and a function applied to the licensee device;acquiring, by an upgrade key acquiring unit, the upgrade key generatedbased on the upgrade key generation request transmitted by the upgradekey requesting unit from the key generating device; and applying, by anupgrade applying unit, the upgrade key acquired by the upgrade keyacquiring unit to the key information of the licensee device after thedefault applying unit overwrites the key information.
 14. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program causing alicense management device configured to manage a grant of a license fora predetermined function to a licensee device configured to perform afunction according to key information specifying an operation tofunction as: a request receiving unit configured to receive a licensechange request used to request the licensee device to unlock or restricta function; a default applying unit configured to overwrite a defaultkey restricting a function of the licensee device that is keyinformation specific to the licensee device represented by the requeston key information of the licensee device when the request receivingunit receives the license change request, wherein the function of thelicensee device is restricted to a default state; an upgrade keyrequesting unit configured to transmit an upgrade key generation requestincluding identification information of the licensee device and afunction to be unlocked that are represented by the license changerequest received by the request receiving unit to a key generatingdevice that generates an upgrade key that is difference data between thekey information unlocking the function restricted by the default key ofthe licensee device and the default key based on the identificationinformation of the licensee device and a function applied to thelicensee device; an upgrade key acquiring unit configured to acquire theupgrade key generated based on the upgrade key generation requesttransmitted by the upgrade key requesting unit from the key generatingdevice; and an upgrade applying unit configured to apply the upgrade keyacquired by the upgrade key acquiring unit to the key information of thelicensee device after the default applying unit overwrites the keyinformation.